Flyers Reportedly Not Considering Coaching Change

But despite the substantial pressure the team finds itself under to turn around its on-ice results, a coaching change does not appear to be imminent. On today’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said he “would be surprised” if the Flyers decided to fire Tocchet.

Friedman said he is “not convinced that they’re making a coaching change” and instead believes GM Daniel Briere is looking to be patient as he searches for some other way to “do something to light a match underneath” the team and reverse their poor on-ice form.

While it might seem to still be far too early in the season for a team such as the Flyers to consider a coaching change, teams have in recent years made coaching decisions that at the time seemed somewhat unorthodox.

Last season, the New York Islanders fired head coach Patrick Roy with just two games remaining in the regular season, replacing him with veteran Peter DeBoer as the team looked to reverse a late-season downturn in results. Earlier in the year, the Vegas Golden Knights fired Stanley Cup-winning head coach Bruce Cassidy after 74 games, replacing him with John Tortorella. Cassidy, who went 50-22-10 the year prior, had amassed a 32-26-16 record to that point in the season, and had the club in a playoff spot.

While both of those firings were at a far later point in the campaign, they do illustrate a growing trend across the league of teams changing head coaches at somewhat unconventional times. It would not be a huge surprise if that trend extended to the earlier portion of the season as well. But it does not seem that will be the case with Tocchet.

Tocchet, 62, had a strong first season as the Flyers’ head coach in terms of on-ice results. He took over a club most saw as almost certain to miss the playoffs, and guided them to a strong 43-27-12 record and the club’s first playoff series win since the 2020 COVID-19 bubble. He also delivered Philadelphia its first playoff series win over its chief rivals in more than a decade.

But Tocchet’s first season as Flyers head coach was not without its bumps. While many players were able to reach new heights under Tocchet, such as prized offseason addition Trevor Zegras and breakout No. 1 goalie Dan Vladar, Tocchet’s handling of other players – namely star second-year winger Matvei Michkov – drew some criticism. Last month, Tocchet directly acknowledged some of the criticism he received for his handling of Michkov, calling his first year overseeing the player “a learning lesson for both of us.”

Entering 2026-27, there was hope that Michkov and Tocchet could turn over a new leaf in their relationship, and that Michkov would be able to have the kind of breakout, star-level campaign Flyers fans have been waiting for since the team made him the No. 7 pick at the 2023 draft. But that has not happened just yet.

Michkov, like just about everyone in Philadelphia so far this year, has struggled mightily. He’s still waiting on his first assist of the season, and has just two points in seven games. Remarkably, Michkov’s two points are good enough to be tied for second in scoring on the team, and he is just one point behind team scoring leader Travis Konecny.

The Flyers play the Seattle Kraken tomorrow, and will hope to earn their first win of the season then. While they have already done significant damage to their playoff odds, it’s still early enough in the season that the team could go on a winning run and re-establish themselves as contenders for a playoff spot. Despite some pressure from the crowd in Sunday’s game, it seems the Flyers are not considering a coaching change as a means of trying to spark the team to make that kind of run.